Congrats! I bow down to "The God" Sachin Tendulkar

Today is the day when Sachin Tendulkar completes 20 years in International Cricket.


And since we all know that everything has already been said, written and documented very well about Sachin Tendulkar by almost everybody, it is futile for me to write something that has not been already said or written. So this will be a short but interesting post.


It is difficult to believe that it has been 20 long years since the small, curly haired boy was seen playing for India! Any one who saw this cherubic boy with a spark in his eyes could not help but be mermerized. Such a small innocent boy taking on the Pakistanis in their home land would be nerve wracking for anyone but who can forget the incident where he was hit on the nose? And then to stand up again and continue and score a half century as a 16 year old was what made the whole world take notice and really grasp the magnitude of what he really was. And then to take on the wily, experienced Abdul Qadir and to hoick him for 3 sixes announced the world that he was very special indeed; something that happens once in a century or even more. But one thing is sure, there can never be another Sachin Tendulkar. Ever! It is not for nothing that he is called "God" in Cricket.

So many have come, played with him and long gone, but here he is! Still there going strong into his 3rd decade!


It is very emotional for me because I too have revered him like God. I feel I am lucky that I was born around the right time. He started playing for India when I was 5 and it has been my privilege to watch him for 20 years and I remember that I loved him since that time. I have grown up watching him all these years, reading everything about him, collecting thousands of his pictures and making albums of them, putting up his posters in my room, copying him and what not, just like millions of kids in India. My life revolved around him and Cricket to quite some extent. There have been days when he has played well and it made our day. When he succeeded, we succeeded. When he failed, we failed.


I just thought about this today and it made shudder that how am I ever going to be able to watch the game when finally the day comes when he retires. Because no matter what, it is going to come some day. Though I feel there are quite a few years still left. Indeed this is going to happen to a lot of people who have been switching off their television sets when he gets out.


Over the years, he has been one main reason for joy for the nation, even uniting people across states and religions. For me to a great extent, Cricket starts and ends with him. He is the soul and essence in the game. Indeed no one is greater than the game but the game definitely looks incomplete without him.


I am often amazed at existence for producing such a human being! How can a man have done everything that he has and still remain the amazing human being he is? It was very generous of God or existence for giving us Sachin Tendulkar. There is no greater joy than watching a Master at his work and Sachin is the Master in this game. I can't imagine how physically, mentally and emotionally strong he must be to continue this long and do what he has managed!


I even find myself in my everyday life imitating his facial expressions or other small things unintentionally! Indeed almost everyone in the current Indian team has grown up watching and imitating him and today they are playing with him. One thing I have noticed while he plays is this- Whenever a batsman hits the ball, specially a fast bowler straight back towards him, it is a natural reaction for a fast bowler (don't know why?!) to throw the ball back towards the batsman or the stumps. And I don't know if people have observed this but Sachin Tendulkar handles these situations the best of all the batsman. Do observe this the next time it happens that after Sachin has hit it straight towards the bowler and when the bowler is raring to let go the ball, Sachin calmly just puts up his hand, puts his bat in the crease and doesn't even look at the bowler or ball because if the bowler throws it, it could easily hit or hurt the batsman but Sachin exudes such calm from his presence that the bowler immediately calms down and doesn't throw. It is similar to an enlightened one like Gautam Buddha in whose presence even wild, ferocious animals became calm and tamed! I just love to watch this everytime it happens.


And finally just before stopping, I thought about one thing- Sachin Tendulkar must have run so many runs. The total number of runs he has scored considering First Class and List A Cricket is 42392. Plus let us assume he has run equal number of runs for his batting partners, so it comes out to be 84784 across the pitch which is 22 yards. So it comes out to be 1865248 yards of running. But assuming that 50% of the runs are scored in boundaries (fours and sixes) so it makes it 932624 yards ( The means Sachin Tendulkar has run more than 853 kms on the offcially recorded or statistically maintained matches on a Cricket field alone!). And the average circumference of Earth in yards is 43788837.6. Thus it means Sachin Tendulkar must have run around 2.13 % of the earth's circumference! And that is just while batting. Not fielding or bowling! Digest that!


And all those of you who must have got tired perhaps of the whole Sachin completing 20 years in International cricket going on and on in TV and newspapers and perhaps might have thought because of that by this time that his must have been the longest career, are wrong. In fact he is 16th on the list of the longest Test careers! The highest is of English all rounder Wilfred Rhodes. He represented his country for 30 years 315 days from June 1 1899 to April 12, 1930 playing his last Test Match at the age of 52 years 165 days! And he played just 58 Test Matches. In the modern era, only Sanath Jayasuriya is close to him at 19 years 275 days and Javed Miandad at 20 years 272 days, which is the highest for ODI career. And that's why Sachin Tendulkar completing 20 years in the modern era is a huge thing because of the amount of competitive, fast Cricket being played these days and the number of both ODIs and Test Matches that he has played!
May he never stop!

Metamorphosis of Cricket (Sport, not insect!)

Cricket sport which originally started as a five day affair, has been changing with time over the years and in today's fast paced world with everything being fast and instant, Cricket too has a new face in the form of Twenty-twenty game, so much so that the previous formats seem no longer relevant.

It is a tough time for Cricket, for the people associated with the game over the years, for the audiences who have been watching and loving the game and its various aspects. It is a clash between the old and the new. For Cricket game as it started, some are advocates of "that's how it's meant to be". It is like the Bible or religion, the first word..the way it's meant to be. They cannot accept it to be changed or even to bring modifications to it. Some on the other hand believe that the time of the original Cricket formats is up and they should be scrapped and a few in the middle suggest bringing in some modifications and changes to make the game more up-to-date and in tune with today's time while avoiding both the extreme options.

Is Test Match the problem or is One day Internationals the problem? And the meaning of 'problem' here is less audiences and less interest meaning less money. And the biggest factor behind this is the IPL. It is only after the tremendous success of IPL format and the way it is presented and the glamour factor, that people have started thinking about the game this way. Bollywood and Cricket have always been the 2 major things in an average Indian family and now IPL is the product of Cricket like movies are the product of Bollywood. IPL and movies are counterparts in that respect. When so much effort and money, colour and glamour has been put in to make it so interesting for the audiences for 3 1/2 hours, it is natural that hardly few of these audiences would like to watch the 'boring' Test Matches played in whites over a period of 5 long days which is in total contrast. But since there is so much of a difference between T-20s and Test Matches, they are considered almost different games, targeted to different audiences, they aren't really being compared and thus One day internationals being more closer and similar to T-20s have been caught. So the popular opinion as of now is to keep Test Matches, and obviously have more T-20s but to scrap off ODIs.

In the analysis of the weakness of the ODIs, one of the main things talked about is the lull in the game after the first Power Play till the last 10 overs. To combat it they have brought in batting and bowling power-plays but it hasn't really made so much of a difference. Matthew Hayden has said that this is the time that is actually tougher for batsmen because it tests their skills. But of course he is talking from a player's point of view and now the most important factor is the audience. If there is no one to watch, there isn't really a player's worth then.

Another suggestion that has come and which cannot be ignored, simply because it has come from Sachin Tendulkar himself. He might be a man of few words, but when he talks, the world listens. He has suggested to convert 50 over matches into 2 innings of 25 overs each and he thought of this years ago in 2002, after the final match with Sri Lanka in the Champions trophy.

This is what he has to say about it- "Today, we can tell the result of close to 75% of [ODI] matches after the toss. But [splitting the game] is not too dependent on the toss." And regarding that match in the rain-hit final in Champions trophy in Colombo, where India and Sri Lanka were declared joint winners, " First, they played 50 overs and we played two before the rain interruption, The next day [a reserve day], Sri Lanka again played 50 overs and we played eight. In the end, we were declared joint winners. I thought, 110 overs and still no result. That's when I thought we should have 25 overs each for both sides and then 25 overs each again. If, for example, it's a day-night match, then both the teams will have to bat under lights. In those 25 overs you can use your 10 wickets the way you want. Suppose if it rains, then also you can plan. The conditions change very dramatically, but this would ensure that it's the same for everyone."

A few of the things which have made the Cricket administrators really sit up and think and take some actions include the England and Wales Cricket Board announcement about the decision to drop domestic 50-over cricket in favour of a 40-over competition and instances like Andrew Flintoff turning down the offer of an incremental central contract with England and remaining a freelance cricketer which many say is because he wants to play in the lucrative IPL. The contract would have been worth around £30,000 but in rejecting the offer Flintoff is free to commit to his Indian Premier League employers, Chennai Superkings, who would pay him a full annual fee of $1.55m (£935,000).

So what should really be done? Should changes be made to the ODIs? Should Test Matches be removed? Or is it just too much of T20s?

Before we search for solutions, we need to first see if the problem really exists. Before you start treating a patient and administering him medicines, you need to ascertain whether he is really ill. And perhaps the only means of that is the audience. The people watching at their home on their television sets and the people that come to the stadium to watch the match. People want entertainment and they have many ways to have it. It is for the people in charge and the Cricket lovers to ensure that it remains one of the most sought after means of entertainment and that is possible by scheduling it correctly, not having too many unnecessary tournaments and matches.

I have come up with some points which I think can help Cricket get through this turbulent times.
1) Better stadium facilities - If you want audiences, you need to provide them comfortable and pleasing environment and not just make them sit under the hot sun!
2) Reducing days/overs, variations of Power plays - One of the things suggested is reducing Test Matches to 4 days and ODIs to 40 overs or bringing in some variations of Power Plays.
3) Hitting Zones for batsmen - I feel Cricket can actually become better if it takes up some of the laws and practices of informal Cricket played all over the world which can include marking zones on the ground where, if hit, the batsman might get 2 bonus runs. It might tempt many batsmen to hit predetermined shots to those areas no matter where the ball is bowled. It will increase the mind games between the batsmen and bowlers and make it risky and entertaining. Also adopting from informal games- the single-handed one bounce catch can make it interesting.
4) Bringing more colour and glamour - This is of course from the success of IPL in it.
5) Proper scheduling of tournaments and preparation of pitches - Many times we have seen that matches are held during the rainy season with frequent rain interruptions or extremely hot climates. Scheduling should be done considering all these factors, weather and local conditions and pitches should be prepared such that matches shouldn't be one-sided. There should be an even contest between bat and ball.
6) Day-night Matches - Even Test Matches can be held day-night as can be ODIs and T-20s so that people can come after their office work and enjoy matches in the coolness specially in Summer
7) Free tickets for school children - For any sport to go on, the interest of the children and the youth in the game is essential. They need to look up to players to be like them. That is how the greats in the game are born like Sachin Tendulkar grew up watching and wanting to be like Sunil gavaskar and Viv Richards while the youngsters and even current Indian team players grew up idolising Sachin Tendulkar. Thus providing free tickets will encourage them to come and generate interest in the game and encourage them to take it up as a career as well.
8) Discount for families - This is also among similar lines to attract more people and appeal to other target audience- women and children. It can be made a fun and enjoyable experience with facilities.
9) Promotion - Of course, everything needs promotion and Cricket needs to be promoted properly. In Test Matches, it is the Ashes that generates the most interest and is of some significance. Similarly they can develop matches and rivalries along similar lines as they have tried with Pakraman for India vs Pakistan matches.
10) Test World Cup - This might seem to be a crazy idea but perhaps 4 day Test Matches with a knock out kind of World Cup might just work. But they need to keep track and not bring in too many tournaments though, as it reduces interest -with World Cups, and IPLs and Champions trophy and Champions League etc. Audiences should not be over-burdened and tournaments should be evenly spaced.

Cricket- The illogical Game

One of my pet topics is definitely Cricket and so far, under the topic of Cricket I have written about particular matches, or about a tour, or the various formats of the game or about a Cricketer. But this time I decided- Why not write about the game itself?
So here it is - a post on the game of Cricket.

What is it about this sport that drives the whole nation of India mad? What special does this game have that has given it the unique distinction of being elevated to the position of religion in India? What is it about it that drives most of the subcontinent countries, unites people across religions and places?

If you take a look at what the game is simply, it is actually quite illogical and might even look stupid. If the intellectual, logical people like Aristotle and Socrates had known about this game, they would have simply laughed at the people who play it and would have laughed even louder at the stupidity of the people all over the world watching it so keenly and getting all worked up over it and yet they would have missed something very beautiful because this game, as indeed other games are not for the intellect. It is not logical and it is not productive indeed. Just see- a group of around 22 players on a ground doing something as stupid as one of them at a time hurling in a ball and another one trying to hit it and and rest of them so focussed on it, just running after it so desperately! For what? It is simply counterproductive. It is just like the joke on football that someone who saw the sport of football for the first time saw so many people going after one ball and wasting so much energy just for the want of kicking it, he remarked- Why not have one football for each of them so that they can all kick to their heart's content!

If you see from one point of view, it is simply a waste of time for those players and even greater wastage of time for the people watching because at least the players are getting paid for it and it is their livelihood but the people who are watching, they are infact not even getting anything! These groups of players against each other is just like a person wrestling with his left arm and right arm. He is simply wasting his own energy no matter which hand wins.

In this game, it is the rules that make the game and it is the final result that decides all. No matter how well a player has played, if the team has lost, even by 1 run, everyone of that team and its supporters will be sad and someone from the opposition even though he might have not played well at all, if he is in the winning team, he will be happy. So it's not how it was played that matters but what the final result is. The journey is more important than the destination but in sports it is not so. If a team has lost, it will be sad and if everyone realizes that there was a mistake in calculation and infact it has won, suddenly the mood will change. That is one thing that is not very good about the sport that everything hangs on the final score. Games are meant to be played for enjoyment and enjoyment should be derived from the very process of playing.

So, yes this game is illogical, meaningless, nothing productive is coming out of it and there is no point to it but yet in spite of all this or because of these, there is something magical about the game.

This game would be even more meaningless without the rules of the game. Just see that if there were a group of players who came together to play but did not accept any rules, than anyone would bowl any number of balls, batsmen wouldn't run, everyone would do whatever they wanted and of course there would be fights too. And I have a feeling that if the enlightened people were to play this game, this is how they would play it - without any rules. And they would enjoy it as well.

Also recently, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev was present at the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai SuperKings at Port Elizabeth, South Africa. And he was also supposed to present the a prize to the batsman who hits the maximum sixes. The Sadhguru, a swashbuckling spiritual leader known to roam the Himalayas barefoot and in jeans with the same ease as he zips down international expressways on superbikes, believes that Cricket is beyond religion."This sport brings people together and is a spiritual process." he is reported to have said. Thinking about this gave me an idea and thus below is a small description of a funny event of Cricket that would take place if The Gods, enlightened Masters, Scientists etc took part in it.

Here, I will pick up various famous people from various fields though - you a particular reader might not know all of them. Readers from India might understand about the Indian Gods and not about the western famous people and vice versa. I am tempted to put in a reference of all the characters that I will be using with a small background but it will take up too much space.
And I will actually match one of the main feature or characteristic of each person to this game.

FUNNY CRICKET SCENARIO :

* Disclaimer- This is just a work of fiction and is not meant to make fun of any religious or well known figure of any other field. No religious offense is meant and people whose religious or other sentiments might be hurt should refrain from reading further.

- Moses would declare himself the captain of the team and give 10 commandments- one to each of the other 10 players

-Gautam Buddha would be made the third umpire and he will go on looking with his half-closed eyes, sitting in the lotus posture and every decision referred to him would be 'The Middle Way'- neither out, nor not out

- Mahavir would come in to bat naked with no protective equipment either and deliberately let the ball hit him as a means of self-torture.

- Jesus would be spotted 'hanging' out around the stadium.

- Mohammed would carry the messages to the players after every over.

-Krishna would steal the player's clothes from their dressing rooms and cover up the stadium light towers with his 'Sudarshan Chakra' to delay the match and bring in Duck-Worth Lewis in the favour of his team.

-Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev would turn out professionally dressed and would be the fastest between the wickets but would be given out wrongly by the opposition because they would know that he can't get angry

-Osho would play spoilsport and disrupt the match any which way

-Swami Sukhbodhananda would enthusiastically be the captain and coach and use various jargons to explain the strategy to his team

-J.Krishnamurthi would oppose all traditional methods of playing

-Mahatma Gandhi would refrain from hitting the ball as it would be violence and when a bowler will uproot one of the stump, he will show him the other stump.

-Bruce Lee will take a nunchaku instead of a bat and since one bowler would be nothing for him, he will ask multiple bowlers to bowl at him at the same time, and still he will hit all those balls out of the boundary.

-Rafael Nadal will ask for a clay pitch whereas Roger Federer will ask for a grassy pitch

-Isaac Newton would be stationed on the boundary and as the batsman would hit the ball in the air and it would be coming down towards him, instead of taking the catch, he would start explaining the concept of Gravity acting on the ball to the audience

-Edison would be so engrossed in his bowling that he will forget how many balls he has bowled in the over and go on to bowl 10,000 different deliveries without success of getting the batsman out and finally remark that he has not failed but he has found 10,000 deliveries that don't work!

Hail the Master!- Sachin Tendulkar

India vs Australia Test Series 2008 :

The second test match between India and Australia is over and India has taken a comprehensive 1-0 lead in the 4 match series.

Lots of things have happened even before the series started and I will start by discussing that. Australia landed in India with a team that many thought was the weakest Australian team. Australia always take playing in India as a challenge and this was the first time that this team was in a major series, in India, without their stalwarts. The retirement of McGrath, Warne and Gilchrist will definitely weaken any team no matter how good the reserves are. It also did not help that a few of their players were injured, and with MacGill and Hogg gone, the spin department is virtually zero specially when touring a country like India. Also a major setback was an incident, which also in a way highlights the way the Australian cricket and its board functions - not considering Andrew Symonds- one man who could have influenced the series! That was a major decision no matter which way you look at it.

Sachin Tendulkar also stated before the series that India-Australia rivalry is now bigger than even India-Pakistan rivalry. This is absolutely true and I can’t see anyone disagreeing with this statement. In fact I would say that India Australia rivalry is the biggest right now in world Cricket perhaps even greater than the Ashes!

Honestly with the focus now shifting to Twenty over games and people questioning this original, longer version of the game, if people are going to watch a test match, it will be this- India vs Australia.

I am a great admirer of Harsha Bhogle, a very intellectual person and an excellent commentator, reader and avid follower of the game. I am mentioning him because I remember years ago when India had toured Australia, the matches used to start around 5 in the morning- India time and once while signing off after the first day’s play, he just suggested people in India waking up at 5, lying down in front of the Tv set with a blanket on (Winter was on at that time) and I really liked this idea and that is what I did precisely. And I remember the excitement of watching an India vs Australia battle. Now perhaps very few people can imagine someone doing this- waking up at 5 on a cold winter day out of the warm blankets etc, getting up just to watch a test match! I doubt if people would do that even for a World Cup match! But I think it speaks volume, both of me as a Cricket fan as well as the quality of an India vs Australia contest.

Before this series started, I did feel that India had an upper hand, playing on home ground, with many senior players who might be playing their last series against Australia and specially the fact that the bowlers were in excellent form. This is a major factor and I can’t remember the last time when anyone talked about India’s bowlers! Specially, test matches was all about Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh doing all the damage that too on the 4th and 5th day track and people hardly talked about the fast bowlers. However, this is changing since the tours to England and Australia and now India boasts of a formidable and amongst the best pool of fast bowlers!

I knew that this war would be decided on the basis of who won the smaller battle of- Australian batsman vs Indian bowlers, because the batting department of both sides is quite strong. And as of now, it is Indian bowlers who have clearly dominated and the result is that India is 1 up in the series! Also I was very interested to see how the Australians would play when they had a target of 516 runs in the second test match. Zaheer had mentioned after the first test that this was the most defensive Australian team he had ever seen. So the ball was completely in Australia’s court and no matter what they did, they were going to lose. They couldn’t possible have survived so long while playing for a draw, nor could they have got the target but I am glad that the Australians played the way they always have and came out attacking. I would praise them for doing it. They did not meekly surrender but decided to go down fighting which is admirable.

One important announcement that was made before the series was that Sourav Ganguly would retire from Cricket after this series. I did feel and even do now that it was an excellent move by the shrewd Sourav Ganguly. Not that it was just a tactic of his; he was in fact under tremendous pressure constantly, but the reason I feel that he made a very good, tactical move is because before the series I thought that looking at the current form, India would go in for 5 bowlers including Munaf Patel which means Sourav would have to sit out. But after this announcement of his, no selector has the guts to exclude him for the 4 tests. It virtually confirms his place in the playing eleven. But he has come good and clearly wants to leave on a high. So finally this has turned out to be the best for Indian cricket because now there will be no more questions on Sourav Ganguly, he will not have to constantly answer questions from everyone and be under pressure and it will also free up a place in the team for any talented youngster. And I feel that his place might be taken by either Yuvraj Singh or Rohit Sharma if they play 4 bowlers.

In the two matches that have gone by, there was some really exciting old fashioned Test match action. Test matches clearly have something that the other forms don’t. The long spells and the contest between bat and the ball, the test of patience, the charm of watching a bowler weave a web and finally get the batsman out. If you can see that, you will definitely enjoy it. Some of the battles have been pretty amazing. Zaheer Khan is bowling unbelievably well and what can we say about the progress of Ishant Sharma. One can’t help but be impressed by this 20 year old. His battle with Ponting is definitely worth watching and he has triumphed over Ponting. Also the battle of Harbhajan Singh with Hayden and Ponting too is worth watching. Australia do have bowlers with good pace but Lee hasn’t been at his best in terms of number of wickets mainly because he isn’t getting much support.

I, at times in this second match did feel bad for the Australians. To be in a country like India, with the kind of heat and humidity there is and the tremendous home crowd support that India gets and further, if India is dominating then it can be really demotivating but the Australian fast bowlers were still putting in the efforts and in the field department too.

Well, other teams have suffered a lot at the hands of the Australians and it is only fair that they too once in a while get to face this!

To summarize both the teams, India right now truly have the best opening pair for both forms of the game and I see this pair opening the innings in both forms for years to come now. Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman still have it in them to keep on playing as long as they wish, Dhoni is currently the finest wicket keeper in the world, and specially as a Captain too he is just fantastic and the bowling department looks the best it has ever looked, with Zaheer and Ishant leading the way and the likes of Munaf, R.P.Singh, Pathan and Sreesanth waiting in the reserves. Also one thing is clear that unlike many other teams, India right now need not worry about the spin department and that the replacements are now ready for Anil Kumble as and when he retires with Mishra and Chawla and others, unlike Australia who has the biggest conundrum of replacing the spinners.

Australia still has a good batting line up, Hayden is still a force to reckon with and I would like Phil Jacques in with him. Katich is a gritty cricketer whom Steve Waugh called his successor but he hasn’t been able to fill in his shoes. Ponting’s woes in India continue and barring his century in the first game, he hasn’t clicked at all. Hussey and Clarke make a solid middle order and Symonds can make it more dynamic and balanced. Australia do need to think about their bowling department though and get the combination right and solve the problem of a quality spinner.

And finally, one of the great things that happened in the course of this series was that Sachin Tendulkar overtook Brian Lara and also crossed the 12,000 run mark in Tests and became the first person to do so. He now has the record for the most runs in both One day and tests and also the most centuries too in both forms of the game which is an unbelievable statistic. For a man to play on for 19 years the way he has, there can be no words to describe him. That is precisely the reason that my post was mainly about Sachin Tendulkar but when you really feel a lot for anything, you become speechless and that is pretty much it. I have admired this man for the past 18 years like anything and still do and that’s why I can’t write much on him because words will fail me!

A Test Match that will be remembered

India's Tour of Australia- Sydney Test Match

*The opinion expressed here is personal and should not be taken offensively by anyone as it is not with the intention to raise any controversy of any kind.
In just my previous post,after the First Test Match, having praised the Aussies quite profusely, a huge controversy has arisen after the second Test Match between India and Australia, where the attitude of the Australian players has been questioned. Well that’s how things usually turn out to be.


A lot of things have happened in the past few days in Cricket, with so many opinions from ex-players and many decisions being taken and everyone having their own version and interpretation and analysis of what has happened and why it has happened and what not. Even if I just cover all that has taken place, it would be a huge post by my standards too. But I am not going to do that. You must have already read all that in the newspapers and in the TV news channels who are always coming up with their opinion polls and everything. Cricket has definitely been in the limelight and not for the right reasons, with even Australia’s Tennis player - Hewitt saying he feels like the Indian cricketers, as in being done in by the poor umpiring!
But I only feel that what I had written about the Australian team in my previous post in fact is justified. It only proves that they are very aggressive. No one really knows what the exact truth is about the incidents and what had really happened. I even read a funny thing in the newspapers that if calling ‘monkey’ amounts to a racist comment then the Australians fondly call Michael Clarke as ‘pup’. And it said that, so going by the same logic, it would be racial too as there is not much difference between calling someone a monkey or a dog! It’s funny what people can come up with and going by logic it is justified too. And I have no idea how people came up with calling Andrew Symonds monkey. My father asked me what has calling him monkey got to do with his race or origin or being racial? I really did not know other than he had Caribbean parents. In fact going by the theory of Charles Darwin, our ancestors were in fact monkeys. So in a way it has got to do with the origins or race but that applies to everyone then. And also India is famous for its great ‘monkey god’ – Hanuman who is worshipped by many, but I feel this argument is not valid because I don’t think anyone in India would be happy to be called a monkey either. Perhaps if you remind him of Hanuman, he might try and be ok with it which I still doubt but that is just being clever by the abuser!

But all these things are just in the hind sight kind of trying to mildly justify what has happened or trying to find out why all this fuss in the first place. But all this is of no use. What is important is not what was said but the intention behind it is what matters more because Allan Border had said that it is just a difference of culture between the sides as he said calling someone a ‘lucky bastard’ in Australia wouldn’t bother anyone, referring to the charge against Hogg; well so would be the case in India too because it is not with the word as much as it has to do with the intention. The lucky word before it completely changes the meaning and intention because we would use that when someone has done well, whereas Hogg used it in a completely different sense.
In the case of Steve Bucknor, (who incidentally shares his birth day with me) it is really enigmatic. It is quite obvious that he does seem to have ‘bad umpiring days’ especially against India. I really don’t know how or why that happens. But he has clearly been making too many incorrect decisions to be in the ICC’s Elite Panel. Only because ICC is in a bit of a crunch as there aren’t too many umpires around otherwise going by his standard of umpiring, he would have been out by now, but his previous reputation and experience and seniority would have mattered too and could have come in the way but really it is time for him to retire now. Even the best in the world Simon Taufel can have a bad day but definitely not such shockers as Bucknor. I feel that if the Indians had appealed against him a long time ago and if he wasn't here, much of the problem of this match wouldn't have arisen in the first place. And this issue of technology does keeping raising its hood ever so often as soon as there as some doubtful decisions. And then things again settle for some time. But the truth is no one really has a solution to it and opinions are clearly divided even among the greats of the game.
Sunil Gavaskar is not someone who is particularly fond of the Aussies- if not their game, than their other aspects and he questioned the Australians and their captain Ponting taking the case to the referee when they talk about keeping all that has happened in the field, there itself. Some have said that they are not Cricketers but a ‘pack of wild dogs’ who would do anything to win and others have questioned their attitude and suggesting that they need a little counseling.
While watching the game, I was obviously saddened and angered by what was happening in the game but at the same time, I watched the last session with a lot of interest. What I was interested in was the way the Aussies would approach the last session. Almost everyone would have said that the Aussies had left the declaration far too late and they might just miss out on a win and there were a lot of speculations the day before about the target they would set for India whether it would be a carrot dangling. But I was pretty sure that they wouldn't set a target which India would feel they can achieve. That's the way they play. Infact Hayden said before the last day that India had no chance of winning. I noticed that at no time was the body language of the Australian players down. They weren't getting irritated or frustrated when Kumble was doing well with Harbhajan and others. Though we know what Hogg said to Kumble. Even Lee and Hogg were ineffective and so Ponting just tossed the ball to Clarke and he did it with ease. This was the most amazing part for me. I don't think other teams could have won even from the point when Kumble and Harbhajan were batting. Australians just went about perfectly and their interview afterwards was even amazing to hear. Clarke said that they did not think they would win when he came on to bowl! Now the players can be diplomatic and we can never be sure that what they say in the interview is what they really feel but still it is amazing to hear them.
Now about the incidents, no one can really say what is wrong or right and who should have done what but the fact is a lot has already happened and we and Cricket in general would do well to learn from it and be ready and prepared for such future instances.

All this just makes me wonder how much the game has changed since it came into being. From being called the Gentleman’s game, it has changed a lot as money has come in and it definitely is a money-spinner. It has become a ‘sport’ from a ‘game’ where results matter more than just the enjoyment of playing. All games originate for enjoyment and gradually turn into a sport when money comes in and results matter so much more. I guess that is what happens to every game eventually when it becomes a sport!

IPL

Perhaps it’s a bit too late now to be writing about the IPL. I had thought a lot of times about writing it before but just could not make myself do it. But better late than never.

The IPL was certainly one of the most talked about things. No one knew how it would turn out to be, whether it would succeed, what impact it would have on world Cricket etc. For the first time Cricketers were auctioned and so, many expressed their opinions on this issue with Adam Gilchrist even saying that he felt like cattle. Certainly from the player’s point of view, it is not fair to be putting a price on the cricketers this way. It makes them look like just commodities in the hands of the buyers and I think this was visible in the game too.

When the players play for their country, that itself is the greatest motivation. There are no two thoughts about it. That in itself is the greatest honour, so players give it their all while playing for their country and if some are not doing well, there are many options. They can easily be replaced because all over the country there are many eager to play. So in international cricket when players are playing for their country, they are not the only ones accountable. The aim is to put forward the best possible team out of all the players in the country but in the IPL, the owners of the team, they have put in their money and so it means way too much for them and if their team doesn’t do well, they can go for the neck of their captain or anyone else involved with the team. The example was the team of Bangalore. Vijay Mallaya’s Royal Challengers from Bangalore did not do too well but that is how it is going to turn out to be. For somebody to become number one, others have to be below it. Some one will have to come last too otherwise how can the others be on top. So this aspect is different where a win is important at all costs. If you lose, you will be asked questions from the owners.

The difference in IPL and ODIs is that in ODIs, you just put the best team and you can constantly change it whereas in IPL, whatever team you have selected at the beginning, you just have to try and get the best out of it and so it was no surprise that teams with great leaders came in the Finals.
Shane Warne, they say one of the best captains Australia never had and M.S.Dhoni who has already proved that he is turning out to be India’s best captain. These two undoubtedly have the ability to motivate their players and bring out the best in them. Although Warne’s Rajasthan weren’t the best team with best players and neither was Dhoni’s Chennai but it was these captains who were most responsible for taking their teams up to the finals and Rajasthan really deserved to win looking at the way they played throughout the tournament.

The auctioning process itself too is interesting. Obviously all the owners and coaches with captains would have made a general list of the players they want, with difference of opinion there too but in the actual auction, you have to make changes to what team you had planned. I don’t think anyone would have decided a team beforehand and got exactly that team. In the actual process, you take some players you had not thought of or decided on and some you wanted and were keen on might just go out of hand because how much money you are willing to play for what player is important. That’s why personally I am in favour of this process because it brings in things other than just playing Cricket. It brings about planning, Management skills, coordination and getting the best team with minimum cost. So not the team that only plays best wins but the team that gets all this right too along with playing well will win.

Also one good thing about planning the IPL is that they intended to get something else beside the money too. The format of compulsorily having under 19 players and limited players from other countries playing in a team. Certainly India is the one to be benefited from all this with the youngsters getting a chance to show what they can do on this big stage besides sharing their rooms with the greats of the game which is the fastest learning process. Some things are only learnt like this perhaps by watching the greats of the game from close quarters, seeing how they prepare, asking a few questions etc. I am sure the young players would have learnt so much in these 45 days which they would not have in all their years earlier.

It would again be the only time that we would get to see the great battles of Warne-Tendulkar and so many other players. Also the interesting scenario of same team mates playing against each other and former foes joining hands with each other. For the first time so many players from so many places coming together and each contributing his own unique ideas according to the way Cricket is played in their part and his own experience, this confluence of great minds is going to enrich the game tremendously.
Also the interesting thought of whether the crowd at the ground would support their team or Indian players in any team. I feel this has been answered and people have generally taken the sides of the teams rather than players.

Personally too it has been my experience. I was supporting the Mumbai Indians for some reasons not necessary to disclose but quite obvious and for the first time in my life I was getting happy when Sanath Jayasuriya was belting the bowlers all over and for the first time I was wanting him to do well. I enjoyed watching the Mumbai Indians tremendously, specially the coming together of former captains and geniuses of their games- Tendulkar, Jayasuriya and Pollock was great to see. This trio was an amazing combination specially because each of them has tremendous respect and admiration for each other so it was something special. Jayasuriya – one of the oldest in the game had the most child like enthusiasm and they were constantly putting their ideas together. And what an opportunity for anyone in the Mumbai Indians team. If I was there, I would have constantly watched the three of them and would have absorbed so much just being there, an absolute heaven for any Cricket lover. I hope the other players in the team specially the youngsters in the team did not miss out on this opportunity of seeing how their minds worked.

And soon everyone became aware of the great fact when disclosed by Aamir Khan that Sachin Tendulkar was able to predict what ball was going to be bowled before it happened!!! I am sure it is the same with Sanath and when they came in to bat, it was again fun because no one needs to tell them what to do and it is only anyone’s guess what these two would be talking between overs. But personally too I had observed many times Sachin Tendulkar getting into position to play a particular shot even before the ball being released. Just watch his paddle sweep to medium or fast bowlers and you would know.
And it was not coincidence that Sanath Jayasuriya came into his own as soon as Sachin returned to the team. Since then, Sanath was unstoppable.
Now the only point of concern is that other Cricket Boards are not going to keep quiet and let Indian Board run away with all the money. They too will undoubtedly start their own Twenty-20 leagues and so the only question is what will happen to this game.
But this game has seen many changes and has been big enough to accommodate all and has survived so long so I am sure things will work out and I am not worrying for it at present. I am now only looking forward to next year’s IPL carnival to begin again and things coming to a standstill for those many days and more importantly Mumbai Indians doing well enough and being among the top teams because that’s where they belong!

Twenty 20- Where is its place in Cricket?

If we take a look at the history of Cricket, it all started with the test matches….a grueling 5 day contest between 2 sides trying to get one up on each other….It was a hard fought battle which produced tough, battle- scarred warriors. Survival on the Cricket- Battle Field was definitely not easy….It required stamina, courage, temperament, mental toughness and definitely skills. It gave time for the bowlers to weave their web, set up the batsman and try and get him out. It would be engrossing for those who understood the game at that level, those who would like to see such relentless battle and at the same time it was boring for others, who loved the game but found it a bit too dull.

It was an endless battle and those who endured, took the blows, were ready to grind it out and had the mental toughness, finally emerged victorious…Maybe just a moral victory because getting a result in those days was akin to winning a prize off the scratch card! But nevertheless, it would be satisfying for the players.

Then inevitably an idea came into the head of someone, probably a cricket fan - someone for whom the game was a bit too slow, a bit too long or a business minded person with his fingers on the pulse of the time; most probably, the later. With the times changing, people wanting fast food, instant coffee, fast vehicles , fast marriages and even faster divorces, why put up with a game that is slow. And the game was revolutionized. Out went the five long days, and in came just a one day game, clothes became more colourful, the ball was changed to white ball, rules for short balls were altered, and fielding restrictions were brought in. In short - the perfect recipe for an exciting game where the batsman were supposed to dominate and the bowlers to save their skin and escape the flogging. An economy rate of 5 for a bowler became more acceptable. Although there were 60 over matches too, but later on the runs being made in 50 overs easily overtook the ones scored in the former. The whole attitude to the game changed. Instead of being conservative and saving the wickets in the beginning, it gave way to exploding and exploiting the fielding restrictions. And batsmen like Jayasuriya and Gilchrist were born. Bowlers were put on the backfoot from the beginning itself but still when you look at the records of someone like a Glenn McGrath, which is enigmatic, it shows that even then, the really great bowlers survived and not only survived, but even dominated the batsman more often than not. Even Sachin Tendulkar would endorse that!

But even that was not enough. Yes, scores above 300 were touched regularly and the big hitting was there; but only in the beginning and the end overs. What about the middle when the batsman were just milking the bowling? Some changes like flexibility in using the Power Plays were brought in but they did not quite have the impact that was desired.Finally even the solution to that was found. And thus was born the T20- the current rage, specially in India (due to the fact that India won it). There was no margin of error for the bowlers and a nightmare for the fielding captain. There was pressure on the batsman too because they were expected to hit every bowler out of the ground. Yuvraj Singh succeeded in doing it 6 times consecutively and smashing a 12 ball fifty. But an encore is too much to expect. Still there would be a few bowlers who would survive by sheer survival skills and self- belief, who would take on the challenge and ensure that the species survives.

Undoubtedly the whole scenario has been changed and that too deliberately. It has been made with a purpose- to entertain. Cheer Leaders have been brought in..although there was a little controversy regarding that too but that’s a different matter. What it has ensured is that the matches would definitely be much closer than the 50 over game. There would be the nail- biters, adrenaline pumping action and in the end that is what a spectator would want, to feel it is worth the money. It is pure entertainment. It would also give birth to shots that have been previously unheard of…Batsmen would think on their feet and be innovative. What it would do to the technique of the batsman remains to be seen.T20 is good, but it will definitely have its effects on One day and Test matches. It would be advisable to keep a separate, young team for T20 which the old warhorses, The Trinity of our team have understood wisely. As most players would admit, it is more difficult to adjust from T20 to F50 rather than the other way round. We have already seen the effect of One day games on Test matches that results are far more frequent now because even the scoring rate in Tests has increased. But still I feel there is enough space for all the 3 forms of the game provided we do not go overboard on any one and keep T20 interspersed in between the other two to just act as a change in flavour, but it should not become the main recipe or try and replace the others.Then it will make our game complete.

If you take the opinion of the great players like Sachin Tendulkar for example, He would prefer Test Matches first, then one dayers and then T20…because Test matches still remain the ultimate test of a cricketer. Nothing can match that. And the dream of any young cricketer is to don the National cap in a Test Match. It won’t change. So although India is proving to be unbeatable at T20, I still consider Australians as the world champions because they show the ability to play well over a longer period of time that is Test Matches and One day Cricket whereas in T20, you just need one good over to change the entire game and it becomes more luck based than performance based. But nevertheless, at least the country that worships Cricket is a champion in at least one form of the game. So what if it is just T20!

De-Mystifying Australia

Having just witnessed the recently concluded First Test Match between India and Australia, which Australia won quite convincingly, Australia have clearly stamped their authority and have shown that they are keen to win every match in this series. They are clearly on a roll having won 15 in a row now. They would need no reminding that the last time they were on such a winning spree, 16 matches in a row, it was, they were halted in their tracks by India. The Australians at present have that aura of invincibility as they have had for quite some time now.

Having closely followed this Australian team just out of sheer interest and curiosity as to how they manage to play so well and win so many games, here I am attempting to demystify this great team.

It would be difficult to compare the West Indies team of yesteryears that dominated everyone, and this Australian team. Although West Indies have lost that status, it remains to be seen what happens with this Australian team and I suspect that it will keep on going for some years at least. Australia has always been a good team over the years. You can just check their performances in all the World Cups; having won the most number of World Cup titles and even of reaching the Finals. But it has only been in the last decade or so that they have gone a few notches above the rest. They have done well in all conditions and in every country. They really are a complete team in every sense. With legends like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne along with Justin Langer and others retiring, it was expected that Australia would surely miss them and wouldn’t be as strong a team. Sure enough, you can’t replace these legends but Australia seems to have done well even without them. Brett Lee stepped up and took on the role as the spearhead gleefully and Stuart Clark already branded as the next McGrath has shown the ability to fill his shoes, as has Phil Jaques, in the role of Justin Langer. After Ian Healy, it was difficult to imagine someone taking his place but Adam Gilchrist has not only done that but taken it to the next level. You can imagine the kind of players Australia must have in their reserves when Michael Hussey comes in so late into the Australian team and Brad Hogg now 37, has just been in the Test team. Strangely this Senior -Junior controversy that India faces does not seem to bother Australia whose players go on playing well above 35!

So what is it with this team that makes it special? Do they have better players? No. India has equally or perhaps more talented players. Do they have some winning formula? Do they use technology better? Do they use battle of words to gain advantage? Do they just try and intimidate opponents to put them off? Strangely, the answer according to me would be no.

Having read the autobiography of the Great Steve Waugh, it gave me some insights into the team but no solid conclusions. This team does not have any secret or any short-cut. Believe it or not, it is just plain hard work. The kind of situations they go through in their domestic level are such that only those who are really good enough to excel in the International level make it. And by the time they are in the team, they are really well prepared for it. Compare this with sub-continent teams when players as young as 15 and 16 come into the team only to later find out that they were not quite ready. Sachin Tendulkar has been one rare exception and he has proved that his entry was at the right time. But of course such players are just once in a generation.

Ours is a fixation with individuals. Whenever someone does well, we shower accolades on him and term him a superstar only to later demand his head after a few failures. With such short-sightedness, wanting everything instant, no wonder we seem to do well in Twenty-Twenty!

The Australians are meticulous in their preparation, place equal importance on fielding and fitness which we always seem to neglect. They have their plans and strategies in place and they love to play their game aggressively as that is the way they have done and as is the way at their domestic level. They play with pride and enjoy playing well. There was a time when after having won the series, they would lose the last matches; the ones you call dead-rubber. But they have addressed that and are keen on improving all the time. Being complacent is something they consciously avoid because otherwise, they would have already slipped by now. Despite having won almost every match they play, defeat still hurts them and every win is special and not just a routine. Steve Waugh enforced in the minds of everyone that the baggy green cap is something special and has to be earned. This team enjoys playing in each other’s company and celebrates the success of everyone. Technology has no greater part in their success than it has in other teams. Gilchrist using the ball in his gloves while batting just shows that they have people who can give them effective advice and not just technical advice which every player at this level already possesses. They don’t believe in shortcuts which might not seem significant or a new fact but is very important to emphasize. The war of words is not necessarily planned but it comes naturally to them because that is the aggressive brand of Cricket that they play.

You just have to listen to their players being interviewed and I have always been amazed listening to the players. They are nowhere near arrogant as is the general perception. It is just pride misinterpreted. They are honest players which is why they are better. They might have the better of some good player, still if they get him out; it is a matter of celebration. It is not taken for granted. Recently I heard Michael Clarke saying that he got a call and was told that he would be the vice-captain and his first thought at receiving the call was that he might have been dropped from the team! They don’t take their places for granted in the team either, no matter who they are.

Subcontinent teams have star players and some others have better ‘teams’ who play well as a team but Australia have both. Each player is well known and feared but they play great as a team too and that is where their strength lies. They believe in themselves which again comes from the confidence they have got coming from their highly competitive domestic level and that is precisely the reason why they seem to win all the close games even from difficult situations (Remember the Semi-Final against SA and many more) when other teams are more nervous, they in fact seem to raise their level when needed.

They do not even have a planned strategy in the sense that each player has the freedom to play as he feels right because they know that each player has team interest ahead of himself. Just take the recent case where Australia had said that they will not allow Murlitharan to overtake Warne in Australia. This was not arrogance but perhaps giving responsibility to their players as if to do something for their former great player, like giving him something back for serving Australian Cricket so well. And they did it! Imagine the joy they would have got out of it and even Warne was thankful to them. Such things only strengthen the team spirit further. And they had said that each batsman tackled Murlitharan in his own way. Each individual made his own plans and that’s the way they play. Each individual does his homework.

But having said all this, Australia isn’t invincible. Still it can lose against Bangladesh and India can defeat it in Twenty-Twenty too. Nor are all their players always at the top of their game, their batsman too get out for ducks and sometimes even their bowlers are clobbered but it’s the overall big picture that counts where they get the things right. They might lose some battles but they win the final war; which is what counts.